Vancouver Canucks 2021 Predictions, Team Odds and Season Preview

Braden Holtby is an experienced goalie, who can hold things down until Thatcher Demko is ready to take over the net full time, while Nate Schmidt adds another threat on the blue line beyond Quinn Hughes. Outside of Toronto at the top and Ottawa at the bottom, the North Division could go either way this year, but at -120 to make the playoffs on the NHL futures board, Vancouver should be considered a serious threat in the all-Canadian North Division.

Vancouver Canucks 2021 NHL Odds

Vancouver sits around the middle of the pack when it comes to Canadian team power rankings and could surprise some teams, this year.  They were one game away from last year’s conference finals and bettors on the NHL futures board noticed.  The Canucks sit at -120 to make the playoffs and a very reasonable season point total over/under of 61.5.  Elias Pettersson is leading the Canucks in player props, coming in as the favourite to lead the Canucks in goals at +100 and points at -118, while league wide he is at +1,300 to win the Hart Trophy.

Vancouver Canucks 2019-20 Season

Record: 36-27-6 (78 points); Third in Pacific; Lost in Second Round, 3-4 (Golden Knights)

Leading Scorers: J.T. Miller (72 points); J.T. Miller (27 goals), Elias Pettersson (27 goals)

Last year was the first playoff series win for Vancouver since their 2011 Cup run fell short in Game 7 of the finals against Boston.  Entering the season they weren’t expected to make the playoffs, but with one of the best power plays in the league, the incredible rookie season of Quinn Hughes and the best year of Jacob Markstrom’s career, the Canucks showed everyone that a rebuild doesn’t need to take several years (hint-hint Toronto).

Canucks Trades / Acquisitions

With Thatcher Demko looking almost ready to be a franchise goalie, Vancouver used the off-season to bring in veteran Braden Holtby to provide depth in a condensed season and be a mentor to Demko.  It was also no secret that depth on defence was the main struggle for the Canucks last year, and replacing Chris Tanev with Nate Schmidt is definitely an upgrade.  Schmidt is a skilled player, who may take a few more risks than coaches like, but he has a game-changing ability that can take some of the burden off of Quinn Hughes.

Players to Watch

Braden Holtby – Thatcher Demko: This is going to be a scary duo in Vancouver.  Despite coming off a down year in Washington, Braden Holtby is an upgrade from Jacob Markstrom.  At 31-years-old he still has a lot of good years left, he’s a proven Stanley Cup winner and he has a better career save percentage than Markstrom (Holtby is 9.16, Markstrom is .911) while more than doubling Markstrom’s career wins mark (Holtby has 282, Markstrom has 110).  The NHL futures board lists Holtby at +1,600 to win the Vezina Trophy, which is a sign bettors are clearly expecting a big year from him.  In the NHL bubble, Demko had a sizzling .985 save percentage in four playoff games, but his regular season numbers are a little shakier.  Holtby should be a great mentor for Demko and provide the Canucks with a safety net until Demko is ready for the crease full time.

Elias Pettersson: Entering his third year in the league, Pettersson is a big part of Vancouver’s team.  He followed up his 66-point rookie season by scoring exactly 66 points in last years shortened season.  He almost certainly would have hit 30 goals if the full year had been played and NHL futures bettors seem to agree.  At +100 Pettersson is the favourite to lead the Canucks in goals and at -118 he is the favourite to lead in points.  His season point total over/under is 55.5, a pretty conservative number for a player of his skill level, just entering his prime.

Quinn Hughes: In one of the tighter Calder Trophy races in recent years, Hughes barely missed out on winning rookie of the year.  He put up 53 points in 68 regular season games and 14 points in 17 playoff games.  In only his second year in the league, Hughes is one of the favourites on the NHL futures board to win the Norris Trophy at +1,200 and his season point total over/under of 42.5 is very attainable for young star who is nearly a point per game defenceman.

Best Bets

Vancouver didn’t blow any records away last year, but their record against the puckline spread did finish in the top half of the league.  At 36-33 on the puckline spread, they managed to cover more times than not, and were fairly profitable as the underdog, going 24-14 against the spread in those games.  The Canucks never leaned one way or the other when it came to hitting the over.  Their average goals per game was 3.21 (league average was 2.99), mainly due to their power play, and they gave up 3.05 goals per game.

Vancouver Canucks 2021 Season Prediction

Anyone not watching this team closely could be in for a surprise.  They have a great core of young, offensive, super stars in Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes and the goaltending tandem of Holtby and Demko should be one of the better ones in the league, this season.  It seems likely that the all-Canadian North Division should be beneficial to the Canucks, but all the other Canadian teams are saying the same thing.  At a slim -120 to make the playoffs, can the Canucks continue to fast track their expedited rebuild in a weak North Division, or will Vancouver be forced to face a harsh reality and miss the postseason?